What size lens do I need to take a close-up of a hawk 150 feet away? What size/type lens you recommend?
35543
How much are you willing to spend? I'd suggest the $1300 Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM as a very good general purpose wildlife lens. For birds in flight or smaller birds, this might not be quite enough. Otherwise, depending on the image quality you want (check FM Reviews at http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/ ), how much you're willing to spend and how much you're willing to crop, you might also look into the following lenses: Sigma 70-300mm APO $200 Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS $240 Canon 70-300mm IS for about $500 Canon 70-200 for about $500 or $1000 with IS Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AF APO DG OS HSM $750 Tamron AF 200-500mm f/5.0-6.3 Di LD $800 Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM $900 Sigma 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX OS APO RF $900 Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM $1000 Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM $1300 I'd also suggest reading some of the birding forums before making your decision.
1134092
I have used these binoculars to watch a Red Tail Hawk nest at about 200 yards from my car. The optics are good, but not great, at that range. So 200 foot towers should be manageable, depending on your light.
2188336
for close ups it is ideal. 25-40 Feet will be fine but for further distances you might get the subject, but it will not be close enough to focus.....For portraits it is an ideal lens, and any immediate close ups up to 15-20 Feet.
963497
It all depends...the two stock zoom lens that come in the package are fine for birds within a large backyard area on trees and feeders...if your looking to take pics of eagles etc. at great distance an upgrade to longer zoom or focal length will be needed..but the camera itself is fast enough to handle good outdoor/wildlife pics. for an entry level.
641010
Typical binocular sizes for birding are around 8x40, 8x25, 7x35, and 8x30. Bigger 2nd number = more light but heavierer. Models up from this that rare really great but still not to expensive would be the Nikon Acculon 7x35 (wide view), LL.Bean/Bushnell "Discovery" 8x25(small but sharp), and the Leupold Yosemite 8x30(very sharp and clear). This 8x21 is OK but it needs a bright target and it's not super sharp. Still, 8x21 is easy to carry around in pocket or purse. I use the Discovery a lot...it's a compromise size and super-sharp.
1197063
You question is not very clear. What is your expectation? do you want to capture moving distance object? or nearby shots? This lens is for near shots with quality you may have to look for telescope lens for long distance shots. Hope it helps.
2187921
In my opinion the best lens for birding and another wild life is Lumix 100-300mm.I used that in Nebraska crane's migration and was absolutely satisfied. This lens in not light and compact, but best choise for tele diapason.
479620
Around 7" to 8" and focuses quickly. I use on a LX1 and the rig is very compact. A screw-on hood helps a lot when outdoor shooting.
426448
Excellent for bird-watching. At 20x, it's fine. At 40x (long distance) you may want a strudier tripod, and because it's daylight, you can look through the smaller 42mm hole (take off the little cap) in the dust cap and that will improve the sharpness at high power. If you want a better spotting scope, simply buy a fancy wide-angle/high-performance 1.25 eyepiece (super-plossl, etc), around 15 mm focal length.
563866
The D300 will give you an equivalent focal length of 42-105mm. This would work out nicely if you are close to the action; ie - on the floor. For more typical shots from further above the court, I think an 80-200 f2.8 Nikkor (equivalent 120- 300) would be a better lens.
381970
It is approximately 10 feet. If you want a close up range monocular, you will need to look for another one that is available on Amazon. If a binocular is not a problem, I highly recommend the Pentax Papilio. It has fantastic close up focus. It is like having a stereomicroscope in your hands.
1565296
I'd start with a good 2X Barlow lens. It doubles the mag of all your other eyepieces...
2219452
I agree with "sammy". Even if you get close enough to your target, whether through the use of a blind or other means, the lens quality from the 70-300 to the EF series lenses is considerable. Lens quality aside, the ability to "get close" without "being close" is one of the keys to great wildlife photography. The further away from an animal or bird you are, the more likely it will remain calm and stick around. While most of the Canon fixed telephoto lenses in the EF series remain out of reach for all but the dedicated professional, the zoom lenses in the series are reasonably priced and provide excellent results. Additionally, the extra 100mm on the 100-400 will prove to be very useful, especially around skittish wildlife like hawks and other raptors, and dangerous big game such as bears, elk and moose.
963496
I'm located near the Brandywine River and use the D3100 for waterfowl, raptors and songbirds including hummingbirds. No issues at all with the camera. The package lenses are fine for reasonably close pictures, but as nps notes, better glass with longer focal length is needed for longer range pics. Eagles/osprey at about 100m, for me, is about the limit, beyond that its a snapshot.
518863
I have this lens, I used it for several months before upgrading to the 75-300 IS USM. If you don't want blurry pictures then you will have to spend the money on better tools. I take a lot of bird pictures and was able to track them using the non IS lens but it was very difficult and unless the pools where the competitions are held are in bright light you won't get sharp pictures. I did try using this one at our dance hall, (poor light for pictures) I eventually had to go to a 50 mm 1.4 that does great in low light. You wanting telephoto though, for the money the 75-300 IS at about $450 was the way that I decided to go and I really like what I get now. I have had my t2i for nearly two and a half years. Hope this helps you a little bit. If you want to see a few of my shots with the IS lens. My flickr page is lightninrod49.
119156
The sigma 70 - 300 is an excellent lens and works well with 7100 but probably not the best for bird photography; however, that is just an opinion.
2152932
Found the ans myself. If anyone is interested FOV = 365 ft at 1000 yds (OK) and Close Focus = 14 ft (NG). Mfr gives weight as 25 oz.